The top reported proficiency rate is 16% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public (district)
Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public District serves grades six through eight and is composed of a single school in Suffolk County. It is a small middle-school district, and its size defines much of what a family would experience.
The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, reflecting the communities the school draws from. The district’s enrollment has declined sharply in the years leading up to the current school year, a drop that can affect program offerings, staffing, and the overall environment for students who remain.
On the state’s NextGen MCAS assessments, the proficiency rates across all three tested subjects were low. In math, roughly one in twelve students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In English language arts, about one in six students met that bar. In science, roughly one in thirteen students did. Across all tested subjects and grades, the district’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile among Suffolk County’s districts.
The chronic absenteeism rate was high. More than half of the student body was chronically absent, a rate also in the bottom quartile among county districts. That level of absenteeism can make consistent academic progress difficult for the students who are present and for classroom dynamics overall. A parent may want to ask the school what strategies are in place to address attendance.
Per-pupil current spending sits in the upper range among Suffolk County’s districts. That higher spending level does not translate into higher proficiency outcomes on the state tests, which is a gap a family would want to understand better.
The state’s official accountability report for the most recent year classified the school as “Requiring assistance or intervention” and “In need of focused” intervention, with moderate progress toward improvement targets. This classification, publicly reported, signals sustained academic-performance concerns.
The district does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on special populations such as students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials, nor was free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data. A parent considering this school would want to ask what supports are in place for students with different learning needs, since the state data does not make that visible.
This is a small, urban middle-school charter district with a high share of students of color, a pattern of low academic proficiency, a high rate of chronic absenteeism, and a state designation that flags the school for intervention. Enrollment has dropped significantly. For a family, the question is whether the school’s particular leadership model, which this data does not describe in programmatic detail, offers a fit that the test scores and absenteeism numbers alone do not capture. Those numbers are reason for careful inquiry with the school itself.
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